Part 4

(continued from part 3 )
It wasn't even a groundbreaking landmark movie along the lines of "Srivaariki Premalekha" or a "Pratighatana". That something of that sort was even attempted remains the great claim to fame for "Aswini", the first, and probably, the only sports centric movie made in Telugu. It is an amazing fact/feat, considering that the industry stopped at nothing while borrowing, copying and getting inspired from every other genre known to film-kind (including even the ill-fitting and grossly misplaced superhero and cowboy movies), but this. And it is still more confounding, when sports themes come prepared in neatly packaged three act structure, with a beginning (spotting of the talent), a middle (training of the talent) and an end (triumph of the talent). Probably the paucity of plausible players (who could combine acting and sporting) prevented from such movies being made. However much 'Lagaan' succeeded, cricket does not easily lend itself to movie-making, and the nation's other past time, hockey, calls for unconventional story telling methods (refer to, 'Chak De India'). And that leaves sprinting (or in layman terms, running) the most conventional, convenient and comfortable choice that doesn't call for any new creative techniques, which could drive up the costs, to narrate a simple story. All that it takes to build a movie around running are, first, a good reason, and second, a good runner. Nothing more. For long, the 'Flying Sikh' Milka Singh, on the men's side, and the 'Payyoli Express' P.T.Usha, in the distaff domain, remained the sole beacons of the country who cast long shadows on a sport, that was often sidelined and overlooked. That it needed far less infrastructure while posessing large reserve of raw talent didn't get the deserved attention or the much needed cash infusion, compared to a cricket or a hockey, which at that time, were grossly over-rated and over-valued, both in terms of performance and the following. It became a Catch-22 situation as far as sports movies are concerned - make a movie on a sport that everyone cared, but couldn't be filmed, or take a chance on a sport that could be filmed, but no one cared.

All that changed with the emergence of a photogenic athlete - Ashwini Nachappa - on the national scene, who went to beat the First Lady of Indian Spriting, P.T.Usha, at a couple of national meets. And with the sport slowly gathering momentum in the mainstream, with a build up of a strong contingent of runners in Usha, Nachappa, Valsamma, and Shiny Wilson, coupled with a couple of decent performances in international fora, the nation's attention slowly but surely turned towards women's track and field events. And with a catchy anthem to boot ("aaOn chalen yoon chalen agar bagar.."), the timing was perfect for the movie that no one wanted to make, on a sport that no one cared to bother. Again, it was not so much as the content of the movie, which was honest and down to earth, without any chest-thumping antics (as it wont at the end of every sports movies), but the willingness of the producer who dared to string together the disparate elements - an athlete who had no prior acting experience, a subject that none foresaw to be exciting and engaging, a budget that was just enough to serve the needs and a competent technical team capable of delivering the goods - and wager on a sincere attempt. Though the movie has all the trappings of a regular commercial movie - the triumph of the underdog, the redemption of the fallen, the comedic (training) elements, replete with the mandatory love interest and duets - "Aswini" still rises above them all, and the movie races ahead full steam, when Nachappa pulls up the straps and hits the tracks. The fantastic score (by Keeravani) coupled with the inspirational lyrics (by Veturi - "needoka nootana purANam, vijaya viplawa kaetanam, needoka aagani prayANam, bratuku navvina nandanam", "sAna paTTu paTTakunTae vajramaina, adoTTi rAyirA, aanakaTTa kaTTulaeni aeTikaina, charitra laedurA") help maitain a sense of integrity and commitment to the idea. Years have rolled on since "Aswini" was released, and if the industry still isn't able/willing to come up with another venture that could follow the footsteps of "Aswini", it could be because either the makers feel that the previous outing could not be bested, or plain unwillingness to bet on such a risky venture - both of which speak highly of the Usha Kiron unit for venturing into territories that none dared before and since.

For around a decade (early 80s to early 90s), whatever Usha Kiron turned to gold - critically and commercially. And very little of that incredible run has had to with luck. It wasn't serendipity that the producer (used interchangebly with the Usha Kiron unit) stumbled upon those stories, and it certainly wasn't pure dumb luck that each of those was shaped into near masterpieces. Luck is very much required when trying to recreate success out of rehashed, reused, regurgitated and recycled pulp, like how the current day industry is relying heavily on the packaging, more than caring about the content. When the success of a movie (immaterial of its quality) cannot be predicted, widsom lies in going against the formula, siding with the unconventional and betting on the logical fact that, more times than not, success is met with on the road less traveled, than on tried beaten paths. A story may be the writer's brain child, but the movie is certainly the producer's baby. For it is in fact he, who nurtures the idea, who sets the priorities, and who ultimately decides what artistic, creative and commercial compromises he is willing to take/make, as after all, it is his money. Without the backing of the producer, and his insistence on keeping the story true to itself, movies like 'Mayuri', 'Aswini', 'Pratighatana', 'People's Encounter' would have ended up as regular mainstream rut, mired in the traditional formulaic mess.

'The director is the captain of the ship' goes the oft quoted cliche. The director may be at the helm of the steering wheel, but it is the producer who charts the course and decides on the director. For an industry that boasts of highest output in the country, it is a sad fact there are not more than a handful of producers, past and present, who take their role seriously and think that their job is much more that just signing at the bottom of the checks. And there are even fewer who realized that bigger budgets were not the solution to the problem (of the feeble success ratio), but bigger budgets were the problem themselves (with due regards to Ronald Reagan). Quantity and quality are at constant odds with each other in films, just as with any other industry, and except in those rare scenarios when they are indeed warranted, big budgets often work to the detriment of the movie, stifling the creativity. And in making the story (and the director) earn every penny of the investment on the screen, holding it (and him) accountable to the overall cost, Ramoji Rao joined the illustrious ranks of industrious producers (Dukkipati, Murari, Navata to name a few of the few), whose movies are identified more by the name of the banner, than the glittering list of the contents. Right from the fruition of the idea to the distribution of the movie, by incorporating almost all aspects of creative and technical film-making under one umbrella, with a film studio, proper distribution channels and a great marketing machinery to promote the product, and most important, having the eye and the ear for good aesthetics, Ramoji Rao stands above the rest, as the astute observer and overseer of the successful union of creativity and commerce.

End.

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